July 2025
Sharing spaces is an effective approach to providing more amenities and social activities at lower cost. This occurs when multiple condo buildings are built in close proximity to each other. Typically, these arrangements allow multiple buildings to share the costs for cleaning, security, management and social activities. Residents have access to more amenities than would otherwise be available in each building. Shared facilities can include exercise space, swimming pool or party room. It may include roadways, chiller systems, underground spaces and mechanical rooms.
Shared facilities are governed by a separate agreement among participating condominium corporations that specifies the arrangement. Among other provisions, this agreement is likely to state which amenities or spaces are shared, how each party pays to support shared facilities, and how decisions are made. The agreement is likely to identify a committee for managing shared facilities, its composition and authority. It likely requires the committee to govern the shared facilities, establish an annual budget, maintain a separate reserve fund, and incorporates an obligation for both parties to provide necessary funding.
Information on shared facilities can be found in Shared Facilities and Shared Facility Agreements in the Condo Archives.
Disagreements arise with shared facilities when one or both parties fail to abide by the terms of an agreement. Most disagreements are likely to be over money; how much each corporation should contribute, how expenses are to be shared or what should be spent.
Nearly all disputes Toronto Condo News has been aware of are similar.
Contribution Disputes
One party feels their corporation should be paying a smaller contribution to the shared facilities reserve fund or operating expenses. They no longer want to abide by the agreed-upon formula for sharing expenses.
Committee Subversion
To ensure shared facilities are adequately maintained, a committee likely exists comprised of individuals from each condominium corporation. Some agreements require that two individuals be appointed by each corporation. The committee may have broad authority to make decisions to ensure shared facilities are adequately funded and maintained.
Some condo boards are uncomfortable with the decision-making authority of the committee and seek to curtail or control it in contravention of the agreement. They may choose to install directors on the committee who then are less able to address their duties as a volunteer condo director. Some may instruct their appointed committee members not to make decisions without approval of their condo board. Condo boards may choose to expand the size of the shared facilities committee to include all board members. These actions tend to create committees that are dysfunctional, partially because of their size, and no longer capable of making decisions independent of the condo boards. A dysfunctional board is one that fails to ensure adequate funding, delays maintenance and repairs to shared areas, fails to ensure spaces are appropriately utilized and rules enforced, and seems incapable of making decisions to ensure spaces are safe and desirable.
Most disputes are easily resolved. Should there be a desire to change an agreement, they can do so by creating a new one with terms agreeable to all parties. Otherwise, an existing agreement is enforceable upon all parties. When one party chooses not to abide by an existing agreement, one of the other parties may need to consult their legal counsel on how best to enforce terms of the agreement.
